Read Guide, But newbie still stuck,

[DarkConvict]

Hi All,

I love these sorts of games RPG/Builders etc.

I am aware this is still an alpha build so there some issues like collision detecting when moving, getting stuck, general server lag and such.

Anyway, I have started 4 characters and all have been rather poor in getting on in this world. For the 2 characters i started in a town/city they didn't do much as the place was already well developed.

The others, i used the ladder and started randomly somewhere in the world. This seemed to work better, i started fires, built leanto, fences and such. Although my last character has the bad start place of a roaming VIII bear attacking every 30 mins, instant knockout pretty much.

The problem i have is getting further than those very simple buildings, and finding food. I have read the guides and the wiki, yet seem unable to progress due to the follow.
Cannot find a source of food (cannot build complete fishing rod, cannot find seeds/herb to be able to plow, no weapon to kill with to get food) Did find an apple tree once but that seems a bit limiting
Cannot find/build a saw (no bone to make bone saw, no metal to make normal saw)
No Metal (So as above no metal building)
No String (can't find any herbs to be used as string, or cloth)
No birch trees (only find pine trees)

I feel totally stumped, If i start a new character can anyone recommend some steps to get around the above problems, so i can progress a little further, get into farming, blacksmithing etc.
What skills and attributes should i get, where should i start, is random just too difficult for a newbie

Thanks for any tips

[Jackard]

you can get bones early on from rabbits and chickens

[RayvenQ]

String = Spindly Taproot (you need foraging) and Plant fibres (from harvested flax or hemp)
Food = Rabbits, left click so you're standing right on top of it and then right click to catch it, wring its neck, butcher it ,you get meat, bones and fur.

Birch Trees, you need to look around, maybe travel quite far, as for metal, you don't really need it until later on, the best way to get it is to trade with people for it, at the RoB, but it'll be a while till you can even get there.

[DarkConvict]

Thx for the replies so far,

How do you butcher rabbits to get food and bones, when i right click, there are no options to do anything with them.

Would i be best to get skills in lumberjack/carpentry, invest points in exploration and survival? No guide seems to explain the purpose of those, yet i am aware most of the character points like intelligence don't do anything. I heard perception is the best for newbies, but its not something you can invest in, it just changes based on your actions.

[mandude81]

for the complete fishing rod youl need to make a bone hook a string (spindly root works) and bait (use dig to dig up worms). then youl have to find a water scource that has fish. rivers work and some shalow ponds.

[Kazemi]

I was in the same place as you were in when I started. I advise the following:

1) Find a river or lake. You'll need the shallow water to get clay and make clay-based objects.
2) Find an easy source of food. Even if the apple tree seems a bit limiting, it'll let you live until you can find some seeds or chickens and get farther. Until you find easy food, you'll have to live off your bread, rabbits, Spindly Taproots, etc.
3) Get Foraging, Hunting, Plant Lore, and Lumberjacking. Don't bother with fishing, yet; I still haven't completed my rod. I also advise farming, just so that you can harvest seeds when you find something.
4) Level up Exploration and Survival if you can't find an easy source of food. Exploration helps you find edible herbs as well as helping you notice things better. Survival increases the quality of those things that you find. Exploration will also help you find Spindly Taproots, which count as string (and are edible!). If you do have an easy food source, you can basically pick whatever you want (since you're much less likely to STARVE TO DEATH COLD AND ALONE).

I know that metal comes from mines, but I haven't found one of those myself yet. Birch trees grow in grassland, which appears as a lighter green area on your minimap. I've found one batch of grassland by PURE LUCK, but you really don't need the Birch Trees all that much.

Of course, this is only if you can't find friends (although friends are less helpful if you can't find a good source of food). Two tips to help you stay alive: Don't eat raw chicken meat (rabbit meat seems to be fine) and don't swim. Both of those seem to be sure-fire ways to die.

[Potjeh]

You need hunting to pick up bunnies. If you have 2x2 free space in inventory and you're standing right next to one, he'll appear in your inventory and then you can wring his neck.

Stats you get from food. Different food gives different Food Event Points. Once your FEP bar fills up (size of FEP bar = highest stat) you will get a point in one stat. Which stat you get depends on what FEPs you have in the bar, ie it's random and the ratio of FEPs determines the odds of getting any particular stat.

Raisable stats let you craft better quality stuff, make you better at fighting, let you find herbs and criminal scents more easily (exploration) or make it harder to see your scents when you commit a crime (stealth). You should ignore those for now, it's more important to get the basic skills like plant lore or lumberjacking. The one exception is survival - you should raise it to 10 so you can roast meat with 10 quality, as meat of lower quality doesn't give any FEPs.

[DarkConvict]

Setup camp near water and sand and trees. (like my 3rd character, but he added a lvl 8 bear to the mix, not good)

So get these basic skills first.
Hunting (Pickup rabbits, 4x4, for meat to cook and bones to use for tools)
Foraging (Find those elusive roots and herbs)
Plant Lore
Lumber Jacking (To build better buildings)
Farming (To pickup seeds)

Then Points in Exploration (about 10?) and then Survival to 10.

Then get Pottery and Carpentry skills. Can anyone explain the point in pottery, my 4th Character did manage to build a kiln but is it worth it?

Forget bothering with any metal working skills for the moments, also leave fishing out because it is a pain to complete the full rod.

Sound like a plan?

[Potjeh]

Actually, completing a fishing rod isn't hard at all. You can find spindly taproot without investing anything in exploration (you do need foraging, though). Bone for hook, branches for rod and a block of wood for woodfish are quite easy too. However, you should wait till after you get 10 survival, else you'll make crappy fishing gear and thus catch crappy fish which don't give any FEP. Fishing is a decent way to add some variety to your diet, so you should go for it once you reach 10 survival. You don't really need 10 exploration, but it's nice to have.

As for pottery, if you find fruit trees near water it's the best way to grind LP. But you don't really *need* to grind, you'll get enough LP as you build your camp.

[DarkConvict]

Thanks for the tips

Im still dubious on fishing, i might leave it for a little bit before starting it.

What do you recommend as a maximum exploration for a newbie?